Have a question? Call us on 0800 1979 345
This article was published on November 16th, 2016
A patient has received a substantial out of court settlement after claiming he received substandard dental treatment from his dentist.
The 59 year old man claimed he suffered pain and bleeding over the course of 6 years and his dentist failed to treat an infection in his jaw and progressive tooth decay. Because his dental issues were not rectified, it meant that he has had a tooth extraction which he claimed would have been avoidable had the dentist provided better dental care.
His dentist, who is now retired, gave him a filling in 2008 and the patient claimed that he was in pain soon after the treatment and his problems only got worse from then on. He had the nuisance tooth extracted and although he attended regular dental appointments until 2014, he suffered pain, pus and blood coming from his gums and teeth and was advised after X-rays to use mouthwash regularly and brush well.
He said: “I was worried because I kept bleeding inside my mouth, so I went back and asked him if there was something he could do,
“He took an X-ray but said there was no problem and just told me to keep brushing and swilling my mouth with mouthwash. It didn’t seem right.”
The claimant followed his dentist’s advice but the problems did not go away. He returned to the dental clinic to find his dentist had retired and saw a different dentist.
He said: “I’d been in pain for nearly two years. Eating and chewing were very uncomfortable. It was really nasty smelling too and was causing me to have bad breath. I had to do something.”
The new dentist took new X-rays and advised the man that he had extensive decay and infection in his upper jaw and required urgent treatment. He was also advised that a number of his fillings would need to be redone due to being poor quality and that a simple root canal procedure could have saved the tooth which was extracted in 2008.
The claimant commented: “He was absolutely horrified by what he saw,”
“He told me I needed a treatment plan straight away. He said I urgently needed treatment for decay on a tooth in my upper jaw – the one that had been causing all the blood and pus. And he said there were two very badly fitted fillings, which were trapping food and causing more decay that needed to be sorted out too.”
The claimants original dentist paid an out of court settlement of £11,500 but did not admit liability.
The man said: “I was appalled. My whole family had been to see him every year for as long as I can remember.
“You should be able to trust your dentist. I’m told the tooth will eventually need to be crowned, although at least I’ve now got some compensation ready to pay for that.”
Most of the time you can trust your dentist to give you good quality care but on occasion, things go wrong and you need specialist advice. At Thorneycroft Solicitors we have specialist solicitors who have experience dealing with dental claims if a dentist or dental practitioner has caused you necessary pain and discomfort.
We offer a free initial interview in order to review your specific circumstances and assess the viability of your clinical negligence claim.
To speak to one of our specialist team call us now on FREEPHONE 0800 093 2030, or complete our simple enquiry form and we can call you back at a time to suit you.